17th March 2020.

Dear IAUS361 Participants,

The global health emergency triggered by COVID-19 unfortunately forces us to postpone IAU Symposium 361: Massive Stars Near and Far, to a date to be determined later this year or early next year.  The Summer School is also postponed.  We recognise that many people had already booked their flights before the virus hit Europe and that these costs may be non-refundable, and so we waited as long as we could to give the conference every chance to go ahead.

Unfortunately this position is no longer tenable: many countries have put open-ended travel bans in place from various parts of the world, most academic institutions have imposed open-ended prohibition on non-essential work-related travel, and Irish public health authorities have strongly advised against any indoor gathering of 100 people or more.

One of the core principles of IAU Symposia is that they are open to all, regardless of country of origin or any other criterion.  It is clear that those at higher risk from COVID-19 would not feel safe travelling for the next few months.  It is not clear that Ireland’s borders will be open to all countries two months from now, nor can we be sure that Ireland will be a safe country for hosting the Symposium.

Everyone on the LOC and SOC is very disappointed that we have to postpone the meeting, but we were left with no choice.  We recognise that this will result in significant travel costs for many participants that may be charged to your research grants and/or your personal finances.  COVID-19 represents a real threat to life for some of our participants, however, and this means that we cannot go ahead with the meeting.

• At the moment we have no dates for rescheduling the Symposium.  In the coming weeks the LOC and SOC will consult with the Massive Stars Commission (G2) of the IAU and with the community, also looking at the calendar of other meetings taking place in the next 12 months.
• For those who were awarded travel grants from the IAU, we will have discussions with the IAU about this.  If you have booked flights, please contact your travel agent or airline to find the best way forward.  If in the end you have lost money and you were depending on the IAU travel grant, we will do our best to find a solution, but we cannot make any guarantees.
• The default position of the Slieve Russell Hotel is that all symposium participants are cancelling their booking because the event is no longer going ahead as planned.  If you are happy to cancel your booking, you don’t need to do anything and you will receive a cancellation confirmation in the next few days.
• Today is the St. Patrick’s Day holiday in Ireland, and so the DIAS Finance Office has been closed yesterday and today.  We will follow up tomorrow or Thursday with information on refunding registration fees once we confirm with the Finance Officer.

Best regards,
The LOC and SOC of IAUS361.